Seattle Bitchfest

"Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh." (W.H. Auden)
I can't fully express how much I appreciate these friends of mine. One thing I know for sure is that I feel wealthy just knowing them. I am starting to see some trends forming around our Seattle excursions. I tend to drive down while Forbes sleeps and lets me listen to my tunes at a "reasonable napping volume". While we're driving, she'll wake periodically to take inventory on her snack supply and make sure I didn't steal her precious almonds. She will grab her blackberry to call or text J (roughly every 30-45 minutes) and undoubtedly ask me immediately afterwords: "Isn't J cute?" And at some point during the weekend Kitty will play an India Arie song and I will tear up. This weekend did not disappoint.
Here are a few of my favourite moments from our visit:
-Running in the beautiful sun around Green Lake
-Walking along the Kirkland waterfront, having great coffee coupled with wonderful conversation. Breaking into laughter as we sat on the pier and Kitty had the misfortune of taking in a deep breath just as Forbes let out one of her classic green clouds. It was a perfect example of Kitty being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I still think Forbes should be air care tested annually. I am pretty sure Al Gore would concur. He may want to add the Forbes factor to his CO2 emissions studies.
-Having a good heart to heart conversation while we waited in the car wash line-up....and realizing that Kitty's $1 tip really didn't go far
-Sampling some great French wine while we dined on Capitol Hill (where we got to treat Kitty for her wonderful promotion - too bad she didn't receive what she ordered) -Kitty and I had fun watching Forbes maintain her composure even though we didn't eat until 8:30
-Meeting Kitty's new friend "B" for dessert where Forbes asked him the best question of the night: "So "B", what do you like to do for fun besides Kitty?"
Some things that cracked me up that weren't funny at the moment, but in hindsight were quite funny: I put my contacts in Saturday morning and my new solution completely fried my retinas- apparently the guys on shift at "Clear Care" decided it would be funny to make contact solution entirely from bleach.
-Forbes' ginormous suitcase - she had packed as if she was traversing Europe when the weekend was over. She received a few tense calls and was in the doghouse for packing J's favourite jeans & earrings. But judging from the size of her suitcase, I'm guessing there weren't any clothes left in the apartment.
The biggest trend of all that I notice from our weekend trips is that I feel completely rejuvenated after. I love the mix of personalities when we're together. Most of all, I love the laughs we all share. I am so lucky.